Today I would like to share with you an inspiring discussion
I had. While many parents push their kids to become a Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer…
I met a mom who support her son’s interest for drawing to become a Designer.

But before sharing with you the 2 main reasons she do so,
let’s see why many parents may not support their kids to pursue the art and design path.

If you are in such case,
Always put in number 1 thought that your parents want your best.
No matter the outcome. Always feel gratitude on how they love you. Agree or not with you they are on you side.

You are in the same team. They will be opened to listen.

To do so, the best approach is to first “put yourself in their shoes”.
Understand where they come from. Ask questions about their vision, fear, thoughts about art and design.

The common mistake would be keep talking about your dream project without listening to them.

Try to find out why (even though they want the best for you) they may not support your project.You may realise that most of their fear are coming from myths.

From there, you can unlock one by one the obstacles, all these within a constructive and happy athmosphere.

As a designer, you have to learn how to defend your projects.
Here is your very first one. : )

The main reason parents may not support art and design, is often a lack of exposure.
How many of you already have designer friends ? I personnally didn’t have any.

However, we may have heard about stories like all the cliché of the maledication of an artist saying that “An artist has to be miserable (or pass away) to be successful.” Or drawing is not a seious matter, but a hobby.

It seams counter- intuitive to think that we can make a career from an activity considered as “playing” or “time wasting”, and live from our drawings we do on paper.

There is a myth about to succeed professionally we need to suffer. In French the word: “Travail” comes from the latin of “trepalimu”. Which mean “Instrument of torture”…

If I am not wrong, torture is not allowed by the law anymore. And it may not be the most efficient way to get productive and creative.

If we think twice, plenty of people has been formated to make good studies, having good marks and join a company. Going in the race of whose has the best resume. But recently we heard about the “bullshit jobs”. It’s pretty pejorative, but it shows the tendency of desk job where the employee doesn’t feel any purpose or fullfimement. Some of them actually decide to quit their job to go back into manual position such as bakers, patissier, wood crafter and so on. They want to serve people from their own creation.

Would you rather join a classic and boring path or an amazing journey full of discoveries ?

Make sure your parents do understand that even though being a designer is related to art, it is a different field and domain of expertise.

While being a designer, you fusion work with fun.
And the condition to succeed is to be passionate. So yes ! You will feel like “playing” all day ! And that is the purpose ! Obstacles for you will become challenges. You don’t mind facing problems. You are devoted to solvethel like within a game. Why ? because as a designer, you love solving problems. “That’s your DNA”.

You are not trying to escape work for fun. You have a professional purpose where your artistic sense are helping clients who needs your creativity and ability to sketch ideas. And make things come true !

You aim to create products for the industry. Design is a keychain of a company as well as marketing, engineering or else.

A designer is actually the number ONE keychain for innovative companies such as Apple, Sony, Philips, Adidas, Space-X, Decathlon…

Tell your parents how the journey you aim to join is essential for people, and how you feel thrill about it. All these companies have in common to make a better world. You also intent to join the journey and participating at shaping our living environment.

Now, I would like to share with you a discussion I’ve just had.
I met one of my friend’s mom who understood all these in advance.

She has a 17 years old son who likes sketching and study arts at school.
He will soon have to choose his path for university and he feels interested in studying design.

But in Mauritius, where she lives in, the market for design is not (yet) well devlopped.

And it seams to be at the “seed stage”.
We could see this as an half-empty cup or a half-full cup.

An emerging market lack of opportunities or is full of opportunities to take as a pioneer ?
There is no ultimate truth but the one you will create.
Most of the limits and obstacles we face, are actually coming from our own mind.

It reminds me this quote from Henry Ford about the importance of building your self-confidence:

“Whether you think you can
or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

I really enjoy listening to how she encourages her son to follow his passion for design and arts.
Let me share with you the 2 reasons she encourage him to keep going she gave me:

Reason 1: A rising career.From a down to earth point of view, there is career opporunities.
To contrast with a position where you stagnate doing the exact same thing day-by-day for decades.

As a designer, you will keep progressing and climb the ladder along the way. You will be given new projects, responsabilities and missions to take if you are willing to progress.

Even though you will get your degree, the learning process will carry on along your professional life.
More experience you gain, higher level and project you will be in charge of. More impact you may have to the world.

Resaon 2: Do a job you love.
To succeed, you need both determination and passion.
They walk together.
You can’t succeed if one of these 2 is missing. “Determination and Passion are brothers.”

There is no point to follow a carreer like to become a Doctor, or Lawyer or Engineer if you do not feel any interest into these. They are amazing jobs. But in the long run, it won’t work out if you have the creative spark inside you.

If you choose to become the designer and feel thrill about it. You are gonna out 1000 times more energy into it doing things that matter to you.

She wants her son to make a carreer with opportunities and fulfillment.

If you want to be determinate you need to feel your passion high !
If you want to live from your passion, you need to put in the work.

Once again, if your parents or yourself feal any fear.
Remember that fear is a perception of reality. Make sure they are not based on the myth of the innate talent neither the miserable artist. To become a designer is the exact opposite. 🙂

Hope this is helpful and help you to see clearer.
See you for the next publication !
And feel free to share this article to anyone you think it will be helpful.

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About The Author

Hello ! My name is Chou-Tac. I am a product designer from France. If the sketching methods I’ve acquired aid me in my life and in my industrial design career, I believe that they can also help you reach your design goal as a student or professional. My aim to help you all along with your design projects and journey.
Anytime, feel free to leave a comment in the blog or send me an email at [email protected] : )